Monthly Archives: May 2016

Around the end of the first half of the XIX century, the prominent Jewish figure Mordecai Manuel Noah suggested the importance of founding a Jewish university in the United States of America. Many efforts have been made ever since to establish a higher education that can perpetuate Judaism beliefs of Jews living in America. And not only for American Jews, there are a lot of students from other countries that go to the United States looking for an opportunity to apply and study at a Jewish higher education institution. These students appreciate how the education of these American Jewish institutions immerses them in their religion, so they can be competent in other subjects without losing touch with their religious faith. In addition, Jewish colleges and universities in US are committed to prepare students with integrity and a strong brotherhood responsibility that helps with the development of Jewish community. Here is a list with some of the most renowned Jewish universities in the USA.

Brandeis University

Motto: “אמת (“Emet”, Hebrew) – “Truth even unto its innermost parts”

Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, near Boston, this private research university was founded in 1948 under a non-sectarian idea for Jewish community. They named it Brandeis University for the American Jewish lawyer Louis Dembitz Brandeis who was the first Jew in the Justice of the United States Supreme Court. According to its web site, the university has around 43 majors and 46 minors, with a total of 5,532 students, being foreign nearly 25% of its undergraduates. A recent ranking published in U.S. News & World Report shows Brandeis University in the 34th place of all universities in the US. This university is recognized by its majors in liberal arts, economics and policy. For more information, visit its web site http://www.brandeis.edu/.

American Jewish University

Motto: “Leadership, Identity, Innovation”

Founded in 1947 as the University of Judaism (UJ), it became the American Jewish University (AJU) after its joining with the Brandeis-Bardin Institute (BBI) in 2007. Located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California, this university has five paramount principles related to Judaism beliefs: learning and scholarship, culture, ethics, leadership and peoplehood. The College of Arts and Sciences that makes part of the AJU has majors in Biology & Bioethics, Communication, Business administration and innovation, Literature and Media. It also offers majors in psychology, Jewish studies, politics and global studies. Other schools in the American Jewish University are the Ziegles School of Rabbinic Studies, the Fingerhut School of Education, and the David L. Lieber Graduate School. There is a program to get ready students for a conversion to Judaism which is called the Miller Introduction to Judaism. According to its web site, AJU also provides courses in Jewish history, Israeli society, literature, Bible, rabbinic, philosophy, current events, arts, entertainment, personal development, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Get more information at http://aboutus.aju.edu/.

Yeshiva University

Motto:תורהומדע (Hebrew) – “Torah and secular knowledge”

This is university was founded in 1886, date that makes it one of the first higher education institutions in the United States that integrates Judaism beliefs with other subjects. Located in New York City, this private university has four school grounds: the Wilf Campus, Israel Henry Beren Campus, Brookdale Center in Manhattan, and the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Bronx. The mission of Yeshiva University, stated in its web site, is Torah Umadda, which means “to bring wisdom to life through all that we teach, by all that we do and for all those we serve”. For its 3017 undergraduate students, YU embraces three schools: Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, and Syms School of Business. And for graduates, it offers studies in the following schools: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, The Mordecai D. and Monique C. Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies, and the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. For more information, go to the Yeshiva University web site http://www.yu.edu/home.aspx.

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Motto: וְהַסְּנֶהאֵינֶנּוּאֻכָּל – “And the bush was not consumed”

In 1886, JTS is a private institution for studies of Conservative Judaism established in New York. This Jewish Seminary seeks to prepare leaders characterized by their innovation and thoughtfulness. That’s to say graduates who can guide Jewish communities to a future without forgetting the teachings of Judaism faith. Besides several research institutes, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America has other five schools for its students: The Rabbinical School, the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, the H. L. Miller Cantorial School, Gershon Kekst Graduate School and College of Jewish Music, and Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies. Visit the JTS’s site for more information http://www.jtsa.edu/.

Quacquarelli Symonds is a British company specialized in education and study abroad founded in 1990 by Nunzio Quacquarelli. QS provides services for students interested in all types of degrees, from undergraduates to Masters, Ph.D. and MBA candidates. The company holds publications and events to widen the scope of study abroad. One of the reasons QS… Continue Reading

All efforts of the educational curriculum should be built around four common places: the student, the teacher, the subject and the environment -or social context-. These places largely define the shape of any education system, including the Jewish education. Today the Jewish education system is in a transitional period. To understand where we are going… Continue Reading

Summer is getting closer and you don’t know yet what kind of activities you can do for you and your sons. Jewish do not have a lot of places where they can send their children and it is really stressful for you. Don’t worry, it does exist a place for you and your family this… Continue Reading

Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Polonne said that pride is the root of all evil. So how can a person save him or herself from pride? The answer is very simple: focusing on “doing” instead of focusing on “being”. In other words, when the person is engaged in positive actions that seek to contribute selflessly to… Continue Reading